“Playing the slot machines in my briefs and socks - damn, I love Vegas, like being at home.” That’s what Cincinnati Bengal receiver Chad Ochocinco tweeted while playing the Majestic Lions slot machines ... be it ever so humble there is no place like the MGM.

While the unemployment rate in Nevada hit an all time high last month (14.5 percent) it may be the best time ever to be a litigator in Sin City. Dealers have taken the Wynn to court over a tip-sharing program with their supervisors, Cosmo condo owners are suing the hotel for fraud and tribute bands are suing each other. The battle of the bands is between “The Fab Four” and “The Fab 4” and who is the real fab fake ... a few years ago Nevada politicians passed a law that made it illegal to claim affiliation to a real band. Neither group is claiming to be the original, but they are both claiming to be the original fake Beatles.

The Las Vegas Cut is not the house edge but what a Saskatchewan master diamond cutter does with something that began as a piece of coal. The rare diamond is made with 111 facets, almost double that of a standard (57) cut stone. Starting at 10 large for a one carat, loose stone, the rock is named after Las Vegas because of its brilliance.

The number must be a lucky one because it’s also the number of days the World Series of Poker Nov. 9 have to wait before the Texas Hold ‘Em tournament continues. But don’t feel sorry for these guys ... for making the final table they each get a minimum of $811,823! With only one amateur, seven are sponsored by the Full Tilt poker web-site, and eight of the nine are in their 20s, making it the youngest final table in WSOP history.

Harrah’s president and CEO Gary Loveman said that legalization of online poker in the U.S. would generate billions of dollars. He should know - the company owns the World Series of Poker brand and offers poker online in the U.K., with plans to expand to Italy and France where it’s legal. In 2008 the American Gaming Association estimated that U.S. residents spent $5.9 billion playing poker online ... now that’s a BFN (Big Freakin’ Number).

Hotter than blacktop on the strip, the flames from Mel Gibson’s career or the land where pitch forks call home ... the weather wise guys have been issuing “excessive heat warnings” frequently in our second favorite city under the sun. Docs say sports drinks that replace electrolytes are good, but nothing beats the desert heat like H2O.

At a time when Vegas hotel rooms are being discounted deeper than an abandoned Nevada mine, the Cosmopolitan is taking reservations now for opening night, Dec. 15. The right to occupy a cherry room will set you back $300!